Hospital to test UV light to combat infections

ROCHESTER, NY — Last fall, four Rochester area hospitals announced the formation of a partnership to combat Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infections, according to YNN Rochester.

Dr. Ghinwa Dumyati and Dr. Alexandra Yamshchikov are heading up a study to determine if powerful doses of ultraviolet (UV) light can kill bacteria in a clinical setting; its efficacy has already been proven at the laboratory level, the article stated.

According to the article, donations from the John and Jayne Summers Foundation have allowed for two of the machines to be placed in each of the four major hospitals in the Rochester area.

"This is so different than any other community. Usually hospitals compete with each other and don''t work with each other," said Dr. Dumyati.

"No one has what we have in Rochester — four hospitals putting all their competition aside working together on a problem that involves them and the whole community. That''s very important," Dumyati added.